Gregory Bennett

Like Robyn, I usually find that simpler is better. I generally like to use as large a soft key light as possible (owing to setup time available, space needed, size of location) - a 6 x 6 diffusion panel as close to subject as possible can look great and easy on the subject's eyes. It wraps beautifully, if placed correctly, with no need to add a fill light. From there it's looking to see how well the subject separates from the background. Sometimes a table lamp or two or a small window in the background will do the trick. I generally don't like to use more than two lights, if possible. Colour separation is also something to consider - warm/neutral face against cool or cool/neutral face against warm. The most important thing is that the subject feel relaxed. Here's some frame grabs from interviews I've shot. Most of them use only 1 or 2 lights. http://gregorybennett.com/interviews.php